Air passengers

Following the decision by the Sutton Harbour Group to close the airport for passenger flights this target is no longer relevant and will be deleted.

Core Strategy Target 14.1

Increasing passenger numbers using Plymouth Airport to 580,000 per annum by 2021.

This target is no longer relevant.

In 2010 to 2011 the number of passengers using Plymouth Airport fell to 126,300 from 129,000 in 2009 to 2010 - a decrease of 2 per cent. This was as a result of the withdrawal of the London City Service in May 2010 and the loss of the London Gatwick Route in February 2011.

Sutton Harbour Group announced that it intended to close Plymouth City Airport for commercial passenger fights in December 2011 on the grounds that in the current economic environment it was unviable as a commercial enterprise. This proposal was investigated by the Chamber of Commerce and the Council and accepted in a report to Cabinet published on 23 August 2011.

In September 2011, Eastern Airways which owns Air South West announced that all services from Plymouth would cease on 14 September 2011. Due to radar issues, Air South West ceased operations over August 2011 and the last scheduled flight from Plymouth Airport left on 28 July 2011.

Given the uncertainty over the future of the airport and the clear signals that scheduled operations may not re-commence, this is clearly an issue which will need to be addressed through the review of the Core Strategy.

We will also be exploring opportunities for improved broadband and rail connections for the city.

This page of the annual monitoring report was last updated December 2011.